Mernove
The Empire of Mernove is one of the largest territories of the Beygir Empire. The capital is Belkor, but the largest city is Iveda. It is notable for stretching across both Ortus and Araz, being culturally both and neither at once. Mernove, unlike most of the empire, is ruled from Batil and not Morokhot as part of the Eastern Beygir Empire. It is ruled by the Balkha or Balkheva beneath the Beygul Morkral. The reigning Balkheva is Sedina Vedmid. History Early history Mernove was never part of the Merem sphere of influence, like most of the north. People have theorised that the people of Mernove are descendants of Handar traders who traveled down the Veron River, but whatever their origin they emerged as a distinctive culture. These so-called Kost tribes covered most of Mernove, Venkort, Zapevina, and Knizeme. They were noted for their fur trade, but their lands often fell under the control of Bezol warlords, who were enemies of the Merem Empire. Age of cooperation Eventually four states emerged from the Kost peoples; Mekhem, Valdesto, Zorana and Kausra. Mekhem and Valdesto were the largest, centred on the cities of Iveda and Belkor respectively. Through fur trade they grew to prominence, respected as one of the three great cultures on Ortus (the others being the Grimmig/Handar, and Merem cultures). They adopted the Soltiric Church through trade with the Handar peoples, and it became more popular there than in the rest of the north, so much so that Belkor became recognised as the 'Sentar of the North'. The Great Rift It was revealed that some of the Heavenly Scrolls of the Soltiric canon had gone missing centuries ago, leaving contemporary texts incomplete. A great council was held in Sentar, to rewrite these scrolls from scattered fragments. The delegation from Belkor disagreed majorly with the others, believing that under official doctrine the Grand Cathedral of Belkor should hold the same authority as the Most Heavenly Cathedral of Sentar, as the Sontina lords of Valdesto traced their ancestry back to Solister. Tensions rose from this disagreement, culminating in the Holy Prince of Belkor crowning himself as equal to the Princep in Sentar. This meant that there was a split between the new Congress Church of the Pentarchy and the 'true' Crowned Church. Mekhem and Valdesto accepted the new Congress Church, but Zorana and Vaduo stayed under Sentar's Crowned sway. Wars of the Sun The Wars of the Sun were a series of campaigns approved by the Princep of Sentar, targeting practitioners of other religions in Ortus. Ardair and Norra's mixed religious backgrounds made them targets of the campaign, with military action mostly from the Meragnese League, Celais Ensemble, Remonde Empire, and the newly-founded Eradina. The massacres of their populations saw greater tensions rise between northern and southern populations, resulting in a sense of solidarity between the Áegic and Handar peoples against the Merem-descended states. However the wars were most violent in Mernove, where the wealthy and organised states could actually mount a defence. Mekhem and Valdesto allied in the face of these southern armies, under the command of House Grodev. Eventually as war raged across the so-called Bloody Belt (across Zorana, Kausra, and Zapevina), both parties realised that neither could truly defeat the other. A begrudging peace was made, and the alliance between Mekhem and Valdesto became an official union, as the Empire of Mernove. Mekhem's House of Grodev became the royal house, and Valdesto's House of Sontina became the ecclesiastic rulers. Western Campaigns and Civil War Mernove thrived as a major trading hub and military power, using reserves recruited during the Wars of the Sun to expand westwards. The west remains sparsely populated, but in taking it they commanded the Monoz River along with many other key trading assets brought more power over their neighbours. Responsibility for the western conquests rested on the the Lord Marshal of the West, who commanded the largest part of the Mernovan army. The Lord Marshal of the West came from House Vedmid, a branch of the Grodev family that ruled the empire. The Vedmid eventually earned the allegiance of the previously troublesome Bezol warlords, which catapulted their power up to equal with the Grodevs'. In order to secure peace between the two, the Balkha (Krovoy Grodev) was married to the Lord Marshal's daughter (Belora Vedmid). However Krovoy suspected his new wife of infidelity, and had her executed. Furious, her father Volsov Vedmid mustered his armies and declared war upon the Grodev monarchy. Seizing the city of Belkor as his capital, Volsov warred for ten years with Krovoy. Eventually he emerged victorious and had his Grodev cousins slaughtered, installing himself as Balkha. Beygul conquest and Ledema crisis Mernove under Vedmid rule was considered one of three major powers on Ortus, in competition with Eradina and the Havhal Union. However eventually the Havhal Union became Norra, and claimed authority over all of the Handar peoples. This was an issue to Mernove, as the Handar nation of Ledema was a puppet of the Mernovan monarchy. Norra's war of conquest drew Mernovan forces north to reclaim it. This was unfortunate for Mernove, as along their southern borders Beygir's forces gathered. For years, the Bezol cavalry battled the Salkhi cavalry of Beygir for control over the plains, but the Salkhi were greater in number and supplemented by Daolese troops. With the Bezol pacified, Beygir took control of the mostly empty areas outside of the major cities. Mernovan forces were still dying in droves in Ledema, leaving the major cities vulnerable. Fearing a similar fate to Evrensel's, Mernove surrendered to Beygir. Eastern Beygir Empire With the incorporation of Mernove, Beygir could no longer be administered from Morokhot only. The Morkral installed his brother as ruler of the east, and had his capital at Batil. The Eastern Beygir Empire consisted only of Mernove and half of Beygir proper. However since the conquest, Sedina Vedmid II has come to be Balkheva of Mernove and Beygir has found it hard to control her. The Bezol cavalry, and much of the general public, support her and not the Morkral. Mernove acts much like an independent state, and the eastern Morkral has come to sympathise more with the Balkheva than his brother. There have been discussions about taking Sedina as his wife and seizing control of the empire. However the west maintains a larger population, larger economy, and greater military capacity, as well as having secure alliances with Kameria. A secession would be far more likely than an usurpation.